13801/Digging Up The Past - Laying Low

Digging Up The Past - Laying Low
Date of Scene:	27 August 2021
Location:	Questionable Apartment Complex - New Lots, Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Bucky has a problem and it is staying in his safehouse
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Winter Soldier
Tinyplot:	Digging Up The Past

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Well.

The Ritz this is NOT.

If one were to think of going some place where no one would ever find you. Nick has to admit that, after seeing this place, this would be likely be suggested as one. Situated in a studio apartment where the interior walls don't quite match up to the spacing of the doors in the hallway, the new safehouse Nick has been relocated to doesn't quite give the feeling of being 'safe'. He could probably get tetanus just by looking at some of the light fixtures in the hallway on the way to this apartment.

He's not even sure if the dark floorboards are their original color or if it's just dirt accumulated since the building's construction. Best not to think about it.

Yep. If his mom hadn't been horribly murdered one look of here would have made the housekeeper fall down dead from a heart attack.

And then there's the bathroom.

While IN the apartment, that bathroom looks completely different from the rest of it. And because of that bathroom. Nick can truthfully say he has seen worse accomodations. (Don't even try thinking about that.)

Well, nearly a week has gone by since the incident at the cabin and despite his removal from it. Nick's already experienced a bit of that type of fever that goes with it. Which might explain the convenience store bag resting in what counts as the kitchen. A box of cereal rests on the counter with the accompanying milk that tends to go with it hiding in the fridge. Beside the cereal are a pack of SOLO cups, bottled water, and some plastic utensils that are comfortably sitting in their own solo cup, keeping them off the counter. There are also a couple reader's digests. Yes. Two. There were back issues. Seems they're not exactly flying off the shelves.

As for Nick he's found a perch upon the the bed. At his feet a book of brain teasers with a page folded midway through it. But right now he's just sitting, looking blankly to the wall. The TV, off to the side is turned on to one of the many available news stations, closed captioning turned on but with the volume muted.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Ironically, if someone were to list the ten best places to lay low, the apartment wouldn't be on it. That is, after all, the hallmark of a good safe house. If someone else can find it, it's not safe. Point in fact, the cabin, now an ex-safehouse and former crime scene, current nature reserve.

    The stairs up are narrow, just wide enough for one person with a heavy bag, and steep enough that said person wouldn't be able to see over the top step before some hypothetical person on that top step had had at least ten to fifteen seconds to think of a way to apply boot leather to soon to be appearing face. Annoyingly, just not wide enough for a standard issue riot shield unless it's held at an awkward and therefore utterly useless angle. Thick dust that shows footsteps well, dirt on the walls that will get rubbed on the sleeves of whoever comes up and leaves a telltale mark for anyone coming up the stairs after, say, a hypothetical period of several months tacitly /not/ living there. In a building that may or may not have other tenants. Certainly there's noise in the stairwell, and yet never any actual people. A blind turn at the landing halfway, an awkward left turn at the top of the steps to get to the door, and a hallway that instantly turns right again behind said front door.

    Someone has put some thought into this one.

    And whoever that someone might be, James Buchanan Barnes is trudging up those stairs, making the requisite turns, looking into discreetly placed reflective surfaces, and carrying a very large black kit bag in his left hand, and a book bag on his right shoulder. The stairs creak ominously on his way up, hard to miss.

    And a few moments later, there is a knocking without.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Whatever spell the wall has cast upon Nick is destoyed when the knocking sound fills the utterly quiet room. Blinking away the effects, the pale eyed musician turns his head to look to the door. His head tells him it's probably Bucky but considering the last set of visitors he had were most definitely not, there's still that inkling. Slowly he gets off the bed. Hand grabbing the puzzle magazine, he starts to roll it into a tube, walking towards the door. Using the free hand, he risks the tetanus by uncovering the peep hole to look out.

Seeing Bucky and only Bucky, he lowers the magazine arm and starts to undo the locks.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    And when the door opens, there stands Bucky. As the peephole with the wide angle lens foretold, there he is. Actually smiling.

    "Twenty three seconds. You made sure it was just me out here. Good." Always good to know that the person you're looking out for can look out for themselves. "Brought you your stuff from the cabin." Fractional pause. "If you'll let me in, that is."

    Never take that for granted.

    "Some news on Alonso Stuck as well. Good or bad, depends on how you look at it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
While Nick was greeted to an actual smile, Bucky was treated to- Well, it wasn't a smile. But it wasn't a frown either least. The musician's quiet for a few seconds before the response boots up. Blinking, he shakes his head, giving a weak smile, "Yeah. sorry. Come in."

Stepping away from the door to let Bucky in, he moves back over to the bed, finding it slightly less stabby than the sofa. It's not until Bucky closes the door behind him that the magazine is tossed aside on the bed. The frame creaks a little as Nick sits down on the mattress. He looks over to Bucky for a few moments before the smile strengthens a little. "Wish things were different but...good to see you."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Once Nick is properly seated, the book bag is casually tossed in his direction. And Bucky? He opens the hallway closet and moves the false partition he very strongly forbade Nick from ever touching. For good reason, because behind that partition is revealed an arsenal that could be used to wipe out a small nation. "Not too lonely up here, I hope? Won't be much longer if things go well. You have any idea what kind of people were after you?" Yup, past tense.

    The kitchen table creaks under the weight of the kit bag which Bucky opens next, to lay out and inventory the weapons he rescued from the cabin on the kitchen floor. "Our friend Stuck was a HYDRA agent." There's that past tense again. "So was most of the team that made a mess of your condo. Not that it seemed to slow you down any."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Seeing the bag tossed towards him, Nick reaches his hands out, snatching it by one of the straps mid air, tugging it to guide its path over to the side of him he the magazine wasn't situated. He rotates the bag to open it, peeking inside for a quick assessment. Spotting the book, he closes the bag, giving Bucky a nod of thanks.

His eyes follow Bucky as he walks over to the closet to remove the partition. Brows raise at the sheer amount of ordinance present.

"I'm no stranger to having to stay inside a lot." Nick replies, "But, there are limits." He nods towards the kitchen area where the evidence of his departure from the apartment lie.

The commentary stops as Bucky brings up the people who came to the cabin, jaw clenching at the reminder of the end result of the intrusion. He glances down slightly, "...one looked familiar."

Hearing the creak, he looks up to see another bag being opened. Eyes focusing on what was peeking out. "...HYDRA?" Nick looks back to Bucky, "Wai- he wasn't- Didn't you have him?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Oh we had him. Locked up, secured, cut off from the rest of his kind." With occasional thuds, the weaponry comes out of the bag and onto the floor. There's a lot of it. Quite a lot. That Cabin must have had a sizeable armory somewhere. "We identified all of the attackers at the cabin. The man you impaled on a tree was the agent in charge of the raid, two were part of the same team, other two were handlers for Groundbreaker. I managed to convince our science guys that the wolves had gotten to them." A significant look is given to Nick when Bucky looks up next. One of those infamous Bucky Stares. And then it's back to unpacking.

t"We were interrogating Stuck when he blew himself up. Cranial bomb, horrible thing, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Got some details out of him, but not a lot. Most of it we already knew. Most of it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, to the tree man explanation. "Familiar one." He volunteers, not offering any commentary for the others. But to the mention of wolves, he gives a slight grimace. He parts lips to offer an explanation, but honestly. It's hard to form the right words. "Well. It was a wolf..."

He bites his lip, looking to the pile of weaponry on the floor. Where in the-

"...He killed himself?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Nasty thing, wolves. Just like people, with fangs and claws. Always dangerous to get one of those angry." Again, there's the significant look. The look that makes it clear that Bucky wants to say more on the subject, but can't for fear of being the world's largest hypocrite. He wasn't exactly known for his clean kills, back in the day. The flood of weaponry finally comes to an end, and then the side pockets are opened for the boxes of ammunition, which are stood up in neat piles on the kitchen counter, stacked like the world's most aggressive tea collection.

    "Killed himself or was killed. Those bombs can be set off remotely, so it's entirely possible someone was looking through his eyes. Didn't go off until I was a few inches away from him. If I'd been anyone else, they would have got me." Well, except perhaps Steve.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
There it is with that look again. He's going to keep getting that look for this whole conversation. "Oh for-" Nick brings a hand up to his face pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was tired. The one with the lamp well- I TRIED to get out without-. If they'd just stop shooting I wouldn't h-" He pauses, not quite sure how to explain. He frowns, listening to what else Bucky has to say.

The frown deepens at the mention of proximity Bucky was to the explosion. "...Do you think he- or they trying to get you with the blast?" He pauses, "Is a head bomb normal for people working for them?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Look, I get it. You were tired, they came for you, you got your self defense in good and hard. Who am I to complain about that?" At long last, the flood of ammunition stops as well, and now it's time to transfer all that firepower to the hidden armory in the hallway closet, which Bucky seems to do one rifle at a time, placing each one /exactly/ where he wants it.

    "As for the head bombs, no. Not standard issue. You'd need to be pretty important for that, or a special plant with a specific kill mission. My guess? Stuck was important to the Groundbreaker operation and they didn't want him to fall into enemy hands. So someone had their fingers on the trigger, figured they'd kill two former agents with one blast." Pause. "I've warned the Punisher about the possibility that Clayton has the same surprise hidden in his head." Not Frank anymore, but the Punisher. Something passed between them that seems to have given Bucky a bit more respect for the man. Enough to accede to his wish to be known only as the Punisher, even in a private conversation.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick watches Bucky as he moves back and forth to put the guns into the FORBIDDEN armory.

Hearing the talk of another with a similar device possibly, he gives a confused look. "Clayton? How many more do you think there are?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Placing the next rifle exactly next to its neighbor, where it can be grabbed in a hurry or retrieved without snagging, Bucky shrugs. "Think? The whole department, possibly the entire agency. But then I see HYDRA agents around every corner." And, of course, he says that with a wink on his way back to the kitchen for the next instrument of precise destruction. "But at least the upper echelons of Groundbreaker, possibly the ones who backed it, or conceived it. At the very least Clayton, Stuck's direct superior. But we'll known more when he's been secured."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The musician lets out a sigh as Bucky mentions the whole department or agency possibly being HYDRA. "This isn't ending anytime soon, is it?" He balls up his hand into a fist, taking a deep breath. "Wade's going to be pissed."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "It's entirely likely he already knows..." Bucky begins, tone become a bit more guarded. Not that it stops him from slotting in the next rifle where he wants it, but there's a bit more caution in what he's saying now. "Have you been checking the news?"

    And rather than wait for the answer, he turns from the hidden armory to look over to Nick. Not one of the Stares, but just making eye contact. "Shaw studios had an unwanted visitor. Don't worry, he's fine, but two of his security guards were injured. Not seriously, but injured." How reassuring.

    "They got the guy who attacked the studio. One of Moretti junior's friends. He's in custody. And to reassure you, not anywhere near our corrupt Captain either, who decided to take a potshot at your father's former handler, Schwizer. Didn't go that well for him, Hell's Kitchen PD has a vacancy."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's brows lift at the muttered comment, head turning to follow Bucky's movements "What?" His head turns, looking over to the muted tv that is currently playing THE NEWS. "I-off and on-"

He turns his head looking back over to Bucky as he gives a brief summary. His mouth starts to open but Bucky's assurance that Wade is ok causes for him to stop. Instead, seeming rather concerned to the mention of the guards being hurt.

And then Bucky leads in to a description of someone attacking his father's handler. Nick's expression twists, head tilting as he tries to follow what's got to be the weirdest listing of events he's heard all day. "...what the he-" He looks down, blinking. Sorting it out. "Larry and Gary are ok?" He asks, finally coming up with something to say. Not seriously could mean a lot of things.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "They'll be fine. After all the weirdness that's come through those doors, one guy with a knife didn't have much of a chance." With that out of the way, Bucky continues to ferry rifles from kitchen to armory. "It's a bit early to tell, but my guess is that HYDRA was cleaning house, getting rid of everything and everyone who might have linked them to this operation. It's disintegrating, and that means they need to move quickly before they get exposed. Those last two attempts are proof of desperation, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. On the contrary, actually..."

    Now it's ammo stowage time. Hopefully there's never a fire in this building. "As for it never being over, it'll be over sooner than you think. Fact of the matter is, they can't get to you, and that's throwing a wrench in the works." Momentary pause, and a look over his shoulder at the rockstar. "It's you they've been after. Stuck pretty much confirmed that just before someone blew his brains out. He needed me to confirm if Wayward Son had finally killed. I didn't give him anything."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Truth be known, Nick is very much aware that the shit has hit the fan. But there's something about someone else saying set terms that just, makes the hits seem fresh. Cleaning house. Getting rid of everyone. Including his aunt? What the HELL do they think she'd do? The frown on his face deepens. And the studio attack, were they after Wade? Why? His head shakes slowly.

Looking back over to the soldier, he listens on about the group causing him trouble having a limited time window to get their kills on and that the hiding is keeping them from completing their chore list. Lucky him.

It's gotten to the point where Nick has noticed something about the one man army loading up on the weaponry and ammo. He's working on getting the place ready so of course he's watching those items. But, whenever there's a bit of a blow in terms of information, he looks over his way. Like now.

...Shit.

Seeing Bucky look over at him once more, Nick's brows are already raising, mouth parting slightly as he takes in a breath, readying for the next gut punch.

It's him they've been after. Ok. Not comforting but considering they went all out trying to shoot him at the cabin, it's not surprising they still want him dead.

And then there was that second hit.

Damn one two. Should have seen that coming.

Nick's mouth closes. While his head is still positioned to look towards Bucky, the eyes start to lose focus on the older man.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    That's probably for the best. In between ferrying ammo and rifles, between arranging weaponry and between delivering news, Bucky has been making his own assessment of the situation. He started all this to help a friend, not being overly blessed in that department, and taking a dim view of anyone taking a shot at one. At the time he figured he'd find maybe a dirty federal agent, or some kind of personal grudge. But oh my, the sludge he's dredged up from the very heart of a secure US agency...

    So when he sits down at the table, he reaches into the bag one last time and tosses a can of beer at Nick, opening his own without a word until he's had a sip. Just a beer between pals. So why the hell does the holster at his hip suddenly have the secure strap undone?

    "I've seen it before. These guys play a long game, especially when they're looking at recruitment. You've been tested and poked since you were ten years old, nudged every so often to take a path they needed you to take. All until you finally snapped and killed someone. And then suddenly there they are, ready to clean up your mess, ready to be the shoulder for you to lean on, the ear to hear about all the bad shit you've gone through to get there." A deeper slug of the beer. "They're good at that. Master manipulators."

    "So now we've got ourselves a bit of a problem, Nick."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Bucky wanders towards the table, Nick ends up looking blankly to the area he had been loading up just a bit earlier. The can that gets tossed his way? Well it was a good toss. If Nick had been paying attention.

The can thumps onto the mattress beside the musician. Feeling the thunk, Nick blinks, turning his head to look to the can. The krrsh of Bucky's can opening draws his attention back to the converation. Taking the cue, he slides a hand over to grab the can, pulling it towards him. Eyes set upon the can in his hand as he listens to Bucky's explanation. The closed can is gripped tighter. "I knew I was too tired," Nick murmurs, "But the meds would've knocked me out and after that call-" He shakes his head, "I tried not to. I should've left sooner, or hid better..." He levels the can, popping open the top. "Just- something else." Hell if he knows what.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Could've, would've, should've, don't mean shit." For Bucky's usual demeanor, especially these days, that's a bit harsh. He sits at the table with both his hands visible, the left holding his beer, the right... not so much. It's flat on the table, just above where his pistol is holstered. "Listen to me, Nick. These guys have had nearly a century to perfect their game. They manipulate. It's what they do. And when they started to manipulate you, you didn't stand a chance." A gulp of his beer and a deep sigh. "Nobody does."

    "Best you can hope for is that they fuck up, or someone gets to you before they go to the final stage of recruitment. But by then they almost have you. They almost had you."

    There is a significant pause while Bucky looks Nick over, assessing. And then, looking the man straight in the eyes, he delivers that final gut punch.

    "I need to know for sure they didn't get you after all."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick looks to the now open can, seemingly forgetting the next step in the process. He brings up his free hand, rubbing a palm upwards to the underside of his eye before bringing the index finger to rub at the area between the eye and the side of his nose. He pinche the bridge of his nose before letting the hand just drop down. The can holding hand, remembering its duty rises, giving Nick at least a sip before lowering again.

It is only a sip as the already dark conversation feels like it's just delving down further into the abyss. What started off as kind of a 'You didn't have a choice' ends up twisting around even further. By the time Bucky had a lock on Nick's eyes, the beer in hand was forgotten.

Oh if the words coming out of Bucky's mouth could just as easily be as well.

Bucky's had time to see a lot of Nick's expressions over time. Surprise. Amusement. Dog envy. Discomfort. Fatigue. Fear. Determination. Well, time to add another expression to the list.

Despair.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    In his day, Bucky has seen people fake emotions. He even knows someone who can beat a lie detector every time, and can tell lies as if the truth was simply a matter of personal choice. Which, in truth, it is... there's people who can justify anything, who can use any fact to suit their needs, spinning it so fast that reality gets dizzy trying to keep up. And he knows the best HYDRA agents are like that. Hell, he's like that, when he has to.

    "I've kept your names out of the reports so far. Covered for you. Made sure there was no connection between you and the case I was on. But Nick, I work for an organisation that, among many other things, exists specifically to keep an eye on people like you. We have lists... the bean counters love their lists."

    Another long drink and he thunks the can down on the table. By the sound of it, it's empty. "Even you gotta admit that there's been some strange coincidences since we met. Chance meeting, in a place I went to regularly despite protocol. Not ten minutes later, you're in a bind and I help you out. And I've got a habit of trusting people I help, Nick. That's come back to bite me before, but that's one lesson I never learn."

    He ticks off incidents on his fingers until he runs out. "The teleporting dog, Stark's space station, the condo shootout, the fight with Cain Marko, vampires... Christ, Nick, we went to what looked like heaven together. And now I find out that the person that's at the center of all these odd coincidences was on HYDRA's recruitment list... and not, strangely enough, on ours. So I gotta consider two options here."

    First off, he waggles the empty beer can. "Option one, this is exactly as it all seems, and HYDRA didn't know we were friends, making the whole attempt to kill me by blowing up an agent in my face a pure coincidence."

    Secondly, he lifts the hand resting on the table above his pistol. "Option two, this has been a setup all along. You were planted as a pawn, knowing or unknowing, in a scheme to get me in the same room together with someone who had a bomb in their head."

    Well, when you put it that way... paranoia /is/ a way of life. And in the case of James Buchanan Barnes, they really are out to get him. So he leans back, both hands still raised.

    "Ever heard of Occam's Razor?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's a little at a loss for words. But that turns out to be fine as Bucky demonstrates he has plenty. When Bucky lists all the means in which they've run into each other, it does seem a bit ridiculous the manner in which they've interacted. Hell, if Bucky had been there when that time traveling soceror popped into existence outside of Nick's gym, which is located near Avengers mansion? Hooo boy.

But then he gets asked a question about Occam's Razor. "h- The circus group?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Slow blink.

    What are they teaching kids these days?!

    "It's a rhetorical device used in philosophy to aid in the process of abductive reasoning. To quote Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle..." yes, Bucky is spelling that out, because as far as he can tell, people don't know good literature anymore in these modern days. "... 'When you have considered everything that is impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth'. Or, to put it differently, because deduction requires hard facts that cannot be refuted, and induction requires an extrapolation of known and good facts, we must resort to abductive reasoning to come to the truth. We take what we know, and remove what is impossible, to leave the unlikely truth."

    Whew. That is one side of Bucky that doesn't come out often. Not bad for a man more known for hitting things very hard and shooting things from far away.

    "In your case, there was only one fact in question. Are you a HYDRA agent, or are you so far corrupted by HYDRA that you can no longer be trusted? There is only one way to find that out."

    The right hand drops to the table with a very loud *THUD*

    "You are one of the few people I know who could have a good go at killing me if they put their minds to it. And ever since walking into this room, I've given you seven opportunities to attack me or kill me. I've even given you your weapons back..." Significant. Pause! "And you've not even looked at them. You've barely moved. This would have been your best and probably only chance to catch me off guard. And you didn't."

    The empty beer can is loudly crumpled in his left hand, and a smile finally returns to Bucky's face. "So drink up, I believe you."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick inwardly curses as the explanation is given. Oh sorry Poe! He's had a heck of a week.

He glances over to the weapons Bucky had been loading, thinking to the times he had been looking away, and sure enough he did have both types of sticks in his bag, plus the magazines nearby

Feeling a bit of weight lifted off of him, the musician lets out a breath. "Dupin is better."

He lifts up the can, "To Friar William." he toasts.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Now you're just showing off." Bucky grins. It seems he's pretty glad that things have turned out this way as well. He really doesn't have a lot of friends...

    ... would have been a shame had one turned out to be a HYDRA spy.